Well This Sucks...

As a person who's had a chronic illness since childhood (diagnosed with rhuemetoid arthritis at age 10) I don't usually let physical issues get me down. If something hurts, you deal with it and move on, right? Right! But today, I'm letting myself wallow... just a little.

See, three weeks ago, I was in Dallas for the ACFW conference. It was great, but I had physical challenges the whole time. Mainly, a sinus headache that started as soon as I got to the hotel on Wednesday, and went away as soon as I went to the airport on Sunday. I ventured out of the hotel only once during that time, Friday night, and managed to get a mosquito bite. That wasn't a big deal, though. It hardly even itched. So I moved on.

Two weeks ago, I realized that the "mosquito bite" (because now I'm pretty convinced something else bit me) had a red ring around it and itched A LOT. By the next day, the ring had turned into a rash, and now, one week later, that rash covers a five inch area of my arm. And it still itches. A LOT! But I dealt with it, and moved on.

The thing that finally did it to me, the proverbial "last straw" if you will, was when I stubbed my toe two days ago. It was one of those things that as soon as it happens, you want to smack yourself because of the stupidity of it. I ran into a table in my living room, a table that's been in the same spot for a year. It's not like I didn't know it was there. So now my pinky toe is black and blue and screaming in pain. But the thing that irks me the most is that I was going to take my son to the Renaissance Festival this weekend, and now I can't. His dad will take him, so he'll still get to go, but I'm bumming because I was looking forward to it, too.

I will move on from this. The rash will go away and the toe will heal. But for right now, I'd like to wallow just a little. Maybe eat some ice cream and watch some mindless TV. Then I'll hobble back to my desk, with my box to prop my foot on and my ice pack for my itchy arm, and I may even write something new... hmmm, I'm thinking of a heroine who gets a bad case of poison ivy... hmmm...

The Trip Home

Two Sundays ago I was in the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, making my way home from the ACFW conference (which, by the way, was an awesome experience). Airports are interesting places, particularly if you like to eavesdrop on people, a trait for which we writers are infamous.

So I'd been sitting in the airport for about an hour, reading Sharon Hinck's The Restorer (which was incredible) when I heard this conversation behind me:

MALE: "Hey, I just wanted to say goodbye to you guys before you left."
OLDER WOMAN: "You're so sweet. How'd the auditions go?"
MALE: "Pretty good. We had a couple thousand people and narrowed it down to a hundred."

Okay, I'll admit, my radar picked up at the word "auditions." Immediately I figure out, based on the amount of people who showed up for audition, that it must have been for American Idol. Now I'm curious, figuring that the man behind me is part of the production staff. So I casually turn around, and there is Ryan Seacrest. Well whatcha know! Then I turned back around and opened my book again. That was fun.

I figured that was the most interesting thing that would happen to me, but I was wrong. My seatmate on the plane turned out to be a 19 year old guy who smuggled in some Popeye's chicken (actually, you're allowed to bring food on the plane, but he wasn't taking any chances, so he kept it stashed in his backpack until we took off). I didn't figure this was a person that was going to want to talk during the trip, which was fine by me, 'cuz I had my book. But again, I was wrong.

Turns out Thomas was on his way to Las Vegas not for vacation, but to meet a buddy and then drive from there to Fort Irwin, near Barstow, California. From there, he was being deployed to Iraq. Thomas has a grandmother in South Carolina. He said that the scariest things in Iraq aren't IEDs, it's the booby traps that are set up where you don't expect them. He said that even though a lot of people don't think we should be in Iraq, he feels it's more important that we fight over there than to let the war come to American soil. He told me a lot of stuff.

As I listened to this young man, who's only 5 years older than my own son, my heart began to ache. I don't want to make a political statement one way or the other, but I think we can all agree that no one likes to send men and women off into such a dangerous situation. But nothing makes it resonate like meeting someone who's going there. Until I talked to Thomas, I had no physical, flesh and blood connection to our troups. Now, after 2 1/2 hours flying from Dallas to Vegas, I do.

Before we got off the plane, I gave Thomas my business card (and assured him that I was old enough to be his mother, just so he wouldn't get scared that I was trying to pick him up!) I told him to send me an email if he ever wanted to talk or if he and his buddies needed prayer. I doubt I'll ever hear from him, even though he put the card in his pocket. But I can still pray for him, and I do.

3:10 To Yuma - Long Live the Cowboy Movie!

On Sunday, hubby and I went to see a movie. This was quite an event, because it's not often that we both want to see the same thing (the last movie we saw together was Casino Royal... and let me just say that Daniel Craig makes a yummy James Bond!)

The movie we chose was 3:10 To Yuma. I love horses, but that doesn't mean I'm automatically drawn to all cowboy movies. For one thing, the horses often die in these movies, which I find to be a bummer. But, this one caught my attention because of Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Also, the premise was interesting; A one-legged Civil War vet must accompany a notorious murdering bandit to board the 3:10 train which will take him to Yuma prison. Problem is, the bandit's gang is doing everything they can to stop it.

There's a lot in this movie about destiny and what makes the true measure of a man. There's also a ton of action, a fair amount of swearing (it's rated R, after all) and some appearences by actors that you don't expect to see. I found myself having some rather unexpected reactions whenever they popped up.

Hey, is that Peter Fonda underneath all that hair?

Hey, that Gretchen Moll makes a pretty little farm wife.

Hey, how can Luke Wilson manage to still be so cute when he's playing a sadistic bigot with dirty teeth?

Hey, there's Alan Tudyk! Wash alert! (Let me just confess now, I'm a sci fi geek, and I love finding actors from my favorite sci fi series getting work after their series are over. In case you didn't know, Alan Tudyk played Wash, the pilot, in the series Firefly and the movie Serenity.)

But I gotta say, I really enjoyed this movie. Yep, it's violent, but I think the violence was pretty much a part of who these men were (the characters in the movie. I can't speak to how actual desperados acted, having never met one). The best parts of the movie are the performances turned in by Crowe and Bale. Both of these men are terrific actors, and they find the nuances in their characters, ensuring that it's impossible to take either one at face value.

And another plus, to my recollection, not a single horse died in the movie. Hot diggity! (A cow bit the dust, but I don't have quite the same emotional connection with bovine.)

So if you're looking for a good western with great acting, pretty horses, and you can stomach some blood and raw language, catch the 3:10 To Yuma. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Oh, My Aching Back!

I can't believe it's finally here... in just 4 short days, I'll be getting on a plane bound for Dallas and the ACFW conference. You would think, with such an incredible event coming up, that I would have spent the day writing. But you'd be wrong.

I've had a fun-filled day of cleaning! (Please note the heavy sarcasm intended.)

Normally, I'm not a great housekeeper. In fact, you could probably plant things on the dust that accumulates on my table tops and TV screens. But I've got this weird quirk... I have to know that the house is clean before I go on a trip. There's just something restful about knowing that the cleaning was done BEFORE my exodus from the house starts. Of course, this time I'm going off on my own, leaving my husband and teenage son behind, so who knows what the house will look like when I get back! But that's okay... I did my part.

It's only 2:00 PM right now, so technically, I've still got a lot of time to get some writing done. But I think I'm going to rest my spine (which is screaming out in protest of this morning's unusually physical activities) by kicking back in bed and reading. I may even watch a Star Trek Voyager rerun or two. If I pay really close attention to the character development and plot structure, I could even consider it writing related... couldn't I?

Love Books? Near Dallas? Come on Down!

Do you love Christian fiction? Want to be able to meet over 60 Christian fiction authors all in one place? Then join us for the ACFW booksigning on September 22nd from 1:30-2:30 at the Dallas Addison Quorum Marriott, 14901 Dallas Parkway, Dallas. Click on the picture below to see the flier. Hope you can join us!

When Eyelashes Are Wasted On Boys

There some things in this life that just aren't fair. Like...

• Chocolate is fattening
  
• Kids want to grow up fast and adults long to be young again
  
• You can't go to the beach without bringing a ton of sand home with you
  
• As a rule, boys get the best eyelashes
  

It seems I'm constantly being reminded of the eyelash issue. It all started with my brother, Josh. Josh is quite a bit younger than I am, so I noticed things like the fact that he had the longest eyelashes of anyone I'd ever seen. As a teen, I would be in the bathroom, experimenting with makeup and trying unsuccessfully to make my whispy lashes look full and lush, and I couldn't help but wonder why. Why had God seen fit to bless a boy with eyelashes like that when he obviously didn't need them?

Flash forward to today, when I have a son of my own. Billy is 14, but he's been blessed with a baby face that is a trait handed down from my side of the family. (I tell him that it may be a pain looking younger now, but he'll appreciate it later. I still haven't convinced him.) He also has incredible eyelashes. Not quite as amazing as my brother's, but still great. To make matters worse, he's got perfectly shaped eyebrows. Now I ask you, what does a boy need features like that for? They're wasted on him! I, in the mean time, still struggle with my balding lashes and almost non-existent eyebrows (they're so pale, they almost disappear).

But it's okay. I've made my peace with the fact that some things in life just aren't fair. And for every unfair thing, there's something cool to balance it out. Like...

• Dark chocolate is good for you
  
• When you get old enough, you can act like a kid and get away with it
  
• Car vacs can suck up a lot of sand
  
• As a rule, very few women go bald, and in the rare occasion that one does, there are lots of smashing wigs available!
  

Look Who's New in Christian Fiction - September 2007

Good news, readers! Here's the new list of Christian fiction releases for September 2007. Be sure to stop and visit the websites of the authors. Enjoy!

1. A Big Apple Christmas by Vasthi Reyes Acosta, Gail Sattler, Lynette Sowell, and Carrie Turnasky from Barbour.
A contemporary collection of four novellas that captures the sights and sounds of Christmas in New York City.

2. A Mommy In Mind, A Tiny Blessings Tale, Book 3 of 6 by Arlene James, from Steeple Hill Love Inspired.
A single woman trying to adopt an infant eventually realizes that the attorney behind a nightmarish custody suit is God's chosen mate for her.

3. A Shadow of Treason, 2nd book in The Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War series by Tricia Goyer from Moody Publishers.
Sophie must leave behind the man she loves and return to the person who betrayed her. Another layer of war in Spain is revealed and nothing is as it seems.

4. A Texas Legacy Christmas, Texas Legacy series Book 4 by DiAnn Mills from Barbour Publishing.
Snuggle down between the covers of A Texas Christmas Legacy, where the miracle of love and life awaits you on every page.

5. Boo Humbug, The Boo Series by Rene Gutteridge from WaterBrook Press.
The zany characters of Skary return in this Christmas novella.

6. Finding Marie sequel to Frasier Island by Susan Page Davis from Harvest House.
Marie Belanger witnesses a murder and runs for her life not knowing why, eluding her pursuers so well it’s nearly impossible for her husband Pierre to help her.

7. Long Trail to Love 2nd in the Vermont Contemporary series by Pamela Griffin from Heartsong Presents.
Carly loses her boyfriend, her job, and the town’s respect in one crazy moment while out-of-towner Nate suffers a similar fate, but when they become “team mates” during a hike into Canada, the trek doesn’t allow for a smooth climb – in more ways than one!

8. Mason's Link by Bill Andrews from Xulon Press.
Recounts the fictional discovery of a link used to communicate with a departed loved one, considered by Heavenly powers to be the most important event since the Resurrection.

9. Montana Mistletoe by Lena Nelson Dooley, Lisa Harris, Debby Mayne, and Kim Vogel Sawyer from Barbour Publishing.
Four friends make a pact to marry by their twenty-eighth Christmas, but as the deadline looms, careers and experiences threaten to douse their Christmas spirit — and their chances for romance.

10. Shadow of Danger by Jeanne Marie Leach from Mountain View Publishing.
Sent away from home because of an undisclosed danger, a woman locates an old friend to help, but will she find love or will the danger get her first?

11. Sushi For One? by Camy Tang from Zondervan.
Will Lex Sakai be able to surrender her "perfect man" list and give Mr. All Wrong a chance?

12. The Restorer’s Son by Sharon Hinck from NavPress.
A new, reluctant Restorer is asked to sacrifice for his people—if he can find a way to yield to the One.

13. When the Morning Comes by Cindy Woodsmall from WaterBrook Press.
Wounded by her family, doubted by her fiance, Hannah Lapp plunges into life outside her Old Order Amish community.

14. When the Nile Runs Red by DiAnn Mills from Moody.
An Arab Christian dedicated to helping the Southern Sudanese is hunted by his Muslim brothers.

Happy reading!